Couldn’t have said it better: You’ve done it, intrepid reader – the end of another busy workweek is nigh and another autumn weekend looms. To set the mood, please enjoy 81 famous, semi-famous and not-famous-just-awesome Friday quotes.
It’s Oct. 19 out there, marking the 2,220th anniversary (give or take) of the Second Punic War’s pivotal Battle of Zama, which was fought on this date (or thereabouts) in the year 202 BC (they think). Whenever it went down, if you had Scipio Africanus’ Roman legions upsetting Hannibal Barca’s home-team Carthaginians, well done – a hundred gold aureus for you.
The mother of all saints: To our readers in Albania, a blessed Mother Teresa Day, celebrated nationally every Oct. 19 to mark the 2003 beatification of the famed Albanian-Indian Roman Catholic nun and missionary.
Enough to make you sick: Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, was discovered by Rutgers University researchers on this date in 1943.
But who actually made the discovery? That’s iffy. Scientist Selman Waksman initially earned the credit (and a 1952 Nobel Prize), but was later sued – along with the university – by graduate student Albert Schatz, who said he did all the work. (Schatz never got the credit, but did win an out-of-court settlement.)
Premium blend: High-octane gasoline was patented on this date in 1948 by a quartet of Exxon engineers.
Sea worthy: To prove it was possible – and save the lives of future shipwreck victims – French biologist Alain Bombard departed France in a 15-foot inflatable boat, carrying only a navigational sextant and almost no provisions, on Oct. 19, 1952, bound for the West Indies.
On Dec. 23, after more than two months and about 4,400 kilometers, Bombard – who survived mostly on fish and rainwater and lost nearly 55 pounds – arrived in Barbados.
Rewind: And it was Oct. 19, 1985, when the first Blockbuster video-rental store opened in Dallas.
Speaking of movies: There might not have been a Blockbuster if not for Auguste Lumière (1862-1954), the French inventor who – along with his brother, Louis – pioneered the manufacturing of photographic equipment and created the cinématographe, the first combo motion-picture camera and projector.
Joining Lumière as Oct. 19 babies are American investment banker Charles Merrill (1885-1956, half of Merrill Lynch), French chemist Marguerite Perey (1909-1975, who identified francium, the last naturally occurring element to be discovered), “Brady Bunch” dad Robert Reed (1932-1992) and Patricia Ireland (born 1945, an attorney and former president of the National Organization for Women).
Thrill write: And take a bow, John le Carré – the British master of the espionage novel turns 87 today.
So, le Carré, Ian Fleming or Tom Clancy? Robert Ludlum, perhaps? Vote for your favorite spymaster at editor@innovateli.com, and drop off a for-our-eyes-only story tip, too. Mum’s the word.
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BUT FIRST, THIS
Dr. Gupta, we presume? Add a famous name (sort of) to the Department of Emergency Medicine at Bay Shore’s Southside Hospital – Sanjey Gupta, who’s been appointed the department’s new chairman.
Before you get all starstruck, hold on – this is Sanjey Gupta (with an “e”) not Sanjay Gupta (with an “a”), CNN’s multiple Emmy Award-winning chief medical correspondent, who also serves as associate chief of neurosurgery services at Grady Memorial Hospital and assistant neurosurgery professor at the Emory University School of Medicine, both located in Atlanta (which is also CNN’s home base).
Not that Sanjey-with-an-e is some hack off the street. The new chairman is an associate professor of emergency medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and a voting director of the New York Chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians, with a long résumé that includes a stretch as emergency-medicine chair at New Hyde Park’s Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He’s been “an incredible asset in each of the Northwell Health roles he has held,” notes John D’Angelo, Northwell’s emergency-medicine executive director, “and he will help Southside Hospital continue to develop into a prominent trauma and academic hub.”
School of fish: An “intimate dinner and workshop experience” surfacing tonight at the Amagansett Food Institute will dive deep into the old adage about the differences between giving a person a fish and teaching a person to fish.
Captain Peter Haskell, local angler and owner of Calverton-based Haskell’s Seafood, will introduce participants to local “underutilized seafood” selections, according to the AFI, with a discourse on how to identify various sustainable fish varieties and a live demonstration (though not so much for the fish) on how to fillet and cook each cut.
The main course will be accompanied by seasonal vegetables sourced from nearby farms, adding a scrumptious dinner to the long-term lessons. The scales tip at 6 p.m. at the AFI’s South Fork Kitchens in Southampton; ticket pricing, late registration and more information available here.
TOP OF THE SITE
A Waze to go: Cold Spring Harbor-based Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty continues to incorporate new tech for the benefit of homebuyers and its agents.
All in: Despite the concerns of some area residents, the Nassau IDA has backed a plan bringing 230 rental apartments – including affordable-housing units – to Oceanside.
…but it pours: Days after FEMA approved funding for a Long Beach “flood-protection system,” Albany announced $20 million in storm-resiliency funds for other Island efforts.
Down, not out: A tough stretch has Hauppauge’s Voxx International calling some audibles – but the game’s far from over, promises determined CEO Pat Lavelle.
ICYMI
Hofstra’s entrepreneurship program changes hands, FEMA changes how Long Beach battles storms and a Stony Brook spinoff changes the rules in the war against cancer.
STUFF WE’RE READING
Combat protocol: Engadget goes inside Facebook’s “war room,” where the battle against misinformation and election interference is raging.
Big ideas from the little guys: Harvard Business Review explains why the largest corporations can learn a lot about innovation from small-scale social entrepreneurs.
Ready, or not: Our friends at StartupNation review the four R’s of crisis communication (readiness, response, reassurance and recovery) and why it’s essential to have a plan.
ON THE MOVE
+ Nick Fitterman has been named executive director of Huntington Hospital. Fitterman was most recently the vice chairman of medicine at Northwell Health and previously served as the head of hospitalists at Huntington Hospital, where he began his career in 1992.
+ Kathleen Byington has been hired as senior vice president for finance and administration at Stony Brook University. She was formerly associate vice president for business operations at Yale University in Connecticut.
+ Brian Sinsabaugh has joined East Meadow-based Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman as an associate in the Litigation and Land Use practice groups in the firm’s Hauppauge office. Prior to joining Certilman Balin, Sinsabaugh was an associate at Curtin Law Firm in Cazenovia, NY.
+ Jorge Roig has been named director of neighborhood programs for Central Islip-based Touro Law Center. Formerly an associate professor of law, Roig will oversee the law center’s neighborhood-outreach programs.
+ Gregg Kligman has been hired as an associate in the Employment Law practice for Garden City-based Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein. Kligman previously worked as an associate attorney for Fox Rothschild in Manhattan.
BELOW THE FOLD
Royal treatment: Newsweek – yes, Newsweek – explores Stony Brook University’s decision to ditch its homecoming king and queen for gender-neutral “royals.”
Save money, live better? Shoppers who purchase certain healthcare products at Walmart – yes, Walmart – can qualify for no-cost ”telehealth” consultations.
The stumbling gourmet: Why Europe – yes, Europe – is in desperate need of food innovations, according to the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
Gentle reminder: The search for “free news” continues. For now, please continue to support the great firms that support Innovate LI, including Carter DeLuca Farrell & Schmidt, where George Likourezos is someone you should probably know.
